Center For Cultural Events
Arts bloom in Auburn this summer
Spring is ending on a high note this weekend in Auburn.
Thursday, 18 June 2009 00:00, The Star
Artistic expression is blooming like the flowers on the courthouse square —
leaving you no reason to be sit around the house feeling bored.
This summer’s outdoor art show opened downtown this week. Twenty artists
displayed a burst of creativity, creating marvelous designs on wooden benches
for the Sitting Pretty exhibition.
You can admire the benches tonight, when you also can enjoy an open-air jazz
concert and the monthly cruise-in of collector cars on the square.
Friday night would be an equally good team to see the benches, because many of
the artists will be on hand, some of them displaying and selling other examples
of their work.
When you’ve toured the art show Friday, head over to the new DeKalb County
Outdoor Theater and catch a free performance by the Auburn Community Band.
Friday should be a satisfying night for the people who worked for years to
achieve their dream of an outdoor theater. Many of them are members or
supporters of the community band. They played on the new stage at its dedication
three weeks ago, but Friday will bring their first full concert.
Another triumph of determination arrives Saturday night with the Neighbors
Helping Neighbors Gospel Music Festival, starting at 7 at the outdoor theater.
Organizers of the festival have worked for months to arrange a concert featuring
the Grammy-winning Imperials, along with local favorites Heaven Bound and The
County Line Quartet.
Admission costs $5, with proceeds to DeKalb County food banks and St. Martin’s
Healthcare Services, a free medical clinic for DeKalb residents.
In the spirit of the festival, one ticket buyer told the organizers, “I
can’t go. I’m going to buy these tickets and give them to someone who’s
unemployed and couldn’t otherwise afford to go.”
That’s a grand gesture, but you’ll feel even better if you do attend to hear
the first nationally known performers to appear on the theater’s stage.
With so much to see and hear, this weekend brings a great start to what should
be an entertaining summer in DeKalb County.
Outdoor theater needs donors, volunteers
Thursday, 18 June 2009 00:00
To the editor:
The first season of the DeKalb Outdoor Theater is off to a great start. Our
events thus far have been very entertaining and well attended. We are really
looking forward to the diverse programming that remains on our schedule.
It looks like we will have many great years in the future. The success of the
Outdoor Theater is another indicator of the strong interest in the arts in
DeKalb County. We want to thank everyone for their interest and contributions.
We continue to have items for our facility that will need additional funding to
complete. Tax-deductible contributions can be made to the DeKalb County
Community Foundation, designated to the Outdoor Theater.
We have had several people volunteer to help us on the site before, during and
after events. They have been a big help. We could use several more volunteers as
we go forward. If there is interest, please come to an event and make the
interest known.
This Friday at 7:30 p.m., the Auburn Community Band will perform the first
annual Richard Norris Memorial Concert. He was a great inspiration, touching the
lives of many in the area. We hope to see a strong turnout for this event as our
Auburn Community Band prepares for its trip to Washington, D.C.
This Saturday at 7 p.m., the Outdoor Theater will be the setting for the
Neighbors Helping Neighbors event to raise funds for area food banks and St.
Martin’s Clinic in Garrett. The nationally known Imperials, as well as our own
local Heaven Bound and County Line Quartet, will perform. What a night of gospel
that will be.
For more information about the DeKalb Outdoor Theater, please go to
www.dekalboutdoortheater.org.
John Chalmers, president
DeKalb Outdoor Theater Board
